Realities can change at a breakneck pace in the NFL, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ rookie safety Shilo Sanders discovered that harsh truth early Sunday morning.
During the Bucs’ 23-19 preseason loss to the Bills on Saturday night, Sanders got tangled up with Buffalo tight end Zach Davidson, and both exhibited some hard pushing and shoving.
But then Sanders took things a step further, as he proceeded to throw a right hook at Davidson’s helmet that grazed the tight end’s facemask. Sanders was promptly ejected from the game, causing head coach Todd Bowles to say postgame: “You can’t throw punches in this league–that’s inexcusable. They’re going to get you every time, so you have to grow from that.”
Following the incident, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Buccaneers organization informed Sanders that he will be waived Sunday. The safety’s agents, Drew Dosenhaus and Robert Bailey, stated that “we’re hoping he gets claimed on waivers.”
Sanders was also called for a defensive pass interference penalty in the first quarter of the game against Buffalo.
The former Colorado Buffalo signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent this past spring. He accounted for 4 total tackles during the preseason and was competing alongside Kaevon Merriweather and Rashad Wisdom for the team’s fourth safety spot.
In 21 career games with the Buffs, Sanders racked up 137 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups and 5 forced fumbles.
Current sports editor with the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Ms. Mizzou grad '24 and college athletics enthusiast.
